1-the Brides Glen/Cherrywood Luas extension-to St. Stephens GreenHalf the stations are not open and probably will not open-cos there are only green fields there---all the buiders have gone bust--The Irish Times -Sat 16 Oct. Extra Luas trams to ease crowdingIn this section »Gardaí investigate gun-firing incidentNorton hands out prizes at alma materGrowing tourism: Get your guests to plant potatoes...Garda appeal over Dundalk murderAhern says fracas at prison not due to overcrowdingCommunities urged to collect drug dataTIM O'BRIEN

CROWDED CONDITIONS on morning peak time Luas Green Line services should ease from today with the deployment of additional trams for the Cherrywood extension, the Railway Procurement Agency has said.

It says service frequency will rise from one tram every 4½ minutes, to one every 3½ minutes, between Sandyford and St Stephen’s Green.

Most trams will continue to run only between Sandyford and St Stephen’s Green, with just one in every three trams in the morning peak serving the €300 million, 7.5km extension.

This will give a morning peak frequency of about one tram every 10½ minutes on the Sandyford to Cherrywood section of the line.

The low frequency on the new extension reflects a collapse in projected development along a good proportion of the route which resulted in the decision not to open two of the 11 stops, at Racecourse and Brennanstown. A 350-space park and ride site at Carrickmines is not expected to open until next year.

An hourly Dublin Bus service connects to the Cherrywood Luas on weekdays stop and serves Bray, Greystones and other parts of north Wicklow.

Despite the failure of development along the southern end of the line to materialise, the railway agency said it expects an additional two million passengers per year to use the Green Line as a result of the extension.

Spokesman Tom Manning said the agency would be “delighted” to have to insert more trams into the timetable if overcrowding was being experienced.

Mr Manning said the service could go to one tram every three minutes with existing infrastructure, rising to one tram every two minutes with relatively minor amendments to the system.

But he said experience had shown that while there were “issues” in the morning peak, it was for a short period only at about 8.30am.

Raising the frequency to 3½ minutes would help alleviate this “pinch point” he said.

Mr Manning also pointed out crowded conditions tend not to happen in the evening rush. Luas ticket pricing currently offers discounts for travel at off peak times.

The extension is to open at 11am today after an official launch by Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

To celebrate the opening the agency is offering free travel on the entire Green Line over the weekend and “family-style fun”, face painting and treasure hunts are to be held at various stops along the route==============================

Friday October 22 2010

THOUSANDS of commuters are unable to use Dublin's €300m new Luas extension because there's nowhere to park their cars.

Hundreds of acres of empty land surround the new Luas stops, but people can't use them to park and ride because the land is now tied up in the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).

It also emerged last night that the agency operating the Luas has not even entered discussions with NAMA about making some of this land available to commuters for parking.

Hundreds of drivers were turned away from the Luas terminus in Cherrywood, south Dublin, on Monday morning when the line opened for business because the only car park in operation is a private facility for workers at Dell and other adjacent offices.

Car-park operators have put security staff in place all week to inform stunned commuters there's nowhere for them to park, and clampers have been patrolling the area.

Drivers are left with the option of trying to find a parking place on one short local road, or of driving all the way to the large car park at one of the old Luas stops in Sandyford. This means drivers will get no benefit from the costly new 7km extension.

Commuters were stunned to discover there was no way to access the new line unless they were among the few who live within walking distance of its remote stations, particularly on the section between Ballyogan and Cherrywood.

"People look at this new line, which has been years in construction and cost €283m, yet it's been opened without the basics in place to let people use it so they keep clogging up the roads instead," Rail Users Group spokesman Mark Gleeson told the Irish Independent.

Solution

Mr Gleeson called on NAMA "to give something back to the public" by making land available for the park-and-ride facilities crucial to make the Luas extension feasible to use by thousands of commuters travelling from Wicklow and south Dublin.

He also called on the Rail Procurement Agency (RPA) or Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to hammer out a temporary solution.

The RPA, which operates the Luas, said it was "extremely concerned about the situation" and was working with the council to come up with a solution.

It said park-and-ride facilities at Cherrywood and other stops had been part of the original design.

A spokesman said these facilities were supposed to be provided by builders as part of major developments that had not materialised. The land has now been transferred to NAMA.

The RPA recently secured planning permission for a 350-car park-and-ride facility near the Carrickmines Luas stop which will open next spring, but said it had not yet been able to nail down sites at other stops.

- Aideen Sheehan

Irish Independent

So thats No 1

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that Sinead would be too straighforward and commonsense I worked in Sandyford for years _when the estate was built first-Dublin Bus did not and refused to see that it might be a good idea to run a bus from Bray into the estate in the mornings and evenings --

but thats why these well educated idiots are on 150-200thou a year for to make stupid plans -that someones old great great granny could would call a waste of money

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An Bord Pleanála approves most of plan for Metro Northon 28/10/2010 12:12:43

An Bord Pleanála has today granted a railway order for the development of most of Dublin's Metro North service. An Bord Pleanála has today granted a railway order for the development of most of Dublin's Metro North service.

However the railway procurement agency must apply for fresh planning permission for part of the line, north of Swords, because the planning board is recommending the depot for the service be relocated.

Today's order means the RPA can proceed with enabling works for the project, which are due to commence next March

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Project Description The Metro North line is planned to run from St Stephen's Green via Dublin Airport to the north of Swords at Belinstown.

Using underground, surface and elevated tracks, Metro North will operate from St Stephen's Green, via Dublin Airport, to Belinstown, north of Swords. An estimated 35 million passengers a year will travel on this service, with trains every four minutes, increasing to every two minutes as the demand builds. The journey time from St Stephen's Green to Dublin Airport will be in the region of 20 minutes. The journey time from Belinstown to St Stephen's Green will be approximately 30 minutes.

Metro North will initially have 15 stops available for passengers who want to make the journey from the city centre to the airport and beyond. These will be located at St Stephen's Green, O'Connell Bridge, Parnell Square, Mater Hospital, Drumcondra, Griffith Avenue, Dublin City University, Ballymun, Northwood, Dardistown, Dublin Airport, Fosterstown, Swords, Seatown and Belinstown. Two additional stops at Estuary and Lissenhall north of Swords will be provided at a later date.

The Metro is a significant step in the creation of an integrated public transport system for Dublin. This first phase will link together all of the existing rail corridors in Dublin, by interchanging with the DART, the northern, north-western and south-eastern suburban rail lines, and the Luas Red and Green lines and bus services along the route.

Click here to download map as an Adobe PDF document (2.33 MB).

Projected Completion Date The completion date is contingent on the outcome of the statutory planning process and the procurement and contract award processes. Current Status of Project A key milestone for Metro North was reached in May 2008 with the issuing to the four bidding consortia of the tender documents. The consortia are a mix of international and Irish companies. Metro North is a PPP project and the bidders will be asked to tender for the design, build, funding, maintenance and operation of the line. On 27 February 2009, the four bidding consortia submitted their first round tenders for the PPP contract for Metro North to the RPA. These were evaluated by the RPA and on 30 June 2009 the latter annnounced that it had shortlisted two bidding consortia, Celtic Metro Group and Metro Express, to proceed to the final stage of the PPP procurement process. The formal commencement of the final stage of the procurement process is subject to a decision by An Bord Pleanála on the Railway Order application for the project.

In September 2008 the RPA submitted its application for a Railway Order to An Bord Pleanála in respect of the Metro North project. A copy of the documents which accompanied the application are available on RPA's website. The Oral Hearing in relation to the RPA's application for a Railway Order in respect of Metro North commenced on Wednesday 1 April in the Croke Park Conference Centre. The Oral Hearing was adjourned on 29 April and on 11 May 2009 An Bord Pleanála sent a letter to interested parties stating that the decision to adjourn the Hearing was to allow the Inspector and interested parties the opportunity to review and assimilate the further information provided at the Hearing by the RPA. That further information is available for public inspection by appointment at the offices of Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council and An Bord Pleanála for the duration of the adjournment. On 26 June 2009, An Bord Pleanála wrote to the RPA requesting further information on various aspects of the project. On 19 October 2009, the RPA published a statutory notice informing interested parties that it had, on 1 October, submitted further information to An Bord Pleanála on the likely effect on the environment of the proposed Metro North project. This further information was on public display until 16 November 2009 at the Railway Procurement Agency (Parkgate St.), An Bord Pleanála (Marlborough St.), Dublin City Council (Wood Quay), Fingal County Council (Swords) and Ballymun Regeneration Ltd. (Ballymun Road). The documents may also be viewed at www.dublinmetronorth.ie. The Oral Hearing recommenced on Monday 30th November. On 18th December, the RPA published a notice relating to its proposed modifications of the design of the Mater, Seatown and Ballymun Stops to An Bord Pleanála. The revised material may be inspected (or purchased for a fee) at the offices of An Bord Pleanála (Marlborough St.), Dublin City Council (Civic Offices), Fingal County Council (County Hall, Swords), the Railway Procurement Agency (Parkgate St.) and Ballymun Regeneration Ltd (Ballymun Road). The information may also be viewed/downloaded at www.dublinmetronorth.ie. The deadline for any submissions or observations on the revised material to An Bord Pleanála (together, if applicable, with a fee of €50) was 5.30pm on Monday 8th February 2010. On 20th January, the oral hearing on the railway order application for Metro North adjourned and resumed on Monday 1st March. The oral hearing concluded on Wednesday 10th March 2010.

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Forgot this other gem its part of No.1white elephant This new Luas line (known as Luas Line B2) will run from Cherrywood to Fassaroe. It will broadly follow the route of the old Harcourt Street rail alignment over the Bride's Glen viaduct to the M11 which will be crossed on a new bridge. The line will then continue south, parallel to the motorway to Wilford. Here the line will split. One branch will continue along Old Connaught Avenue into Bray, passing through the proposed new development on the golf course lands to terminate at Bray Daly DART station. The other passes to the south of Old Connaught, under Thornhill Road near St. Gerard's School, across Ballyman Glen on a new road/rail bridge and will terminate in the planned town centre development in Fassaroe. There will be a Park and Ride facility at Fassaroe.

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Project Description Metro West is a key component of the Transport 21 framework. It will be an orbital Metro connecting Tallaght in the west of Dublin with Metro North near Dublin Airport. It is expected that in excess of 20 million passengers will use Metro West each year.

Metro West will link the towns of Tallaght, Clondalkin, Blanchardstown and Porterstown and will provide a fast commuter service to the city centre and the airport via Metro North.

Metro West will run on the surface and the tracks will be separate from road traffic. It will cross road junctions in a similar manner to Luas, although bridges will be required at major roads, railways and other crossings. It will have up to 20 stops for passengers who want to make the journey between Tallaght East and Metropark, south of Dublin Airport. Among the stops under consideration are: Tallaght East, Belgard, St. Brigid’s, Clondalkin, Fonthill, Rowlagh, Liffey Valley, Porterstown, Millennium Park, Blanchardstown, National Aquatic Centre, Abbotstown, Huntstown, Meakstown, Silloge, Harristown, and Metropark, where it will join with Metro North.

Metro West will greatly enhance the connectivity of the whole rail based public transport network, interchanging with the Luas Red line, the Kildare and Maynooth suburban rail lines, Metro North and the new luas lines to Citywest and Lucan.

Click to enlarge

Click here to download the map as an Adobe PDF file (3.33 MB).

Projected Completion Date Completion date will be subject to the relevant statutory process and the procurement and contract award processes; the start and completion dates of projects which have not yet commenced, including Metro West, will also be determined by the funding allocation available during the current difficult economic climate. Current Status of Project On 22 October 2010, the RPA submitted an application to An Bord Pleanala for a railway order (planning permission) for the proposed Metro West project. A copy of the draft railway order and the documents which accompanied the application, including an EIS, may be viewed/downloaded from 29 October at www.dublinmetrowest.ie. These documents may also be inspected during public opening hours from 29 October until 13 December 2010 at An Bord Pleanala (Marlborough St, Dublin 1), South Dublin County Council (County Hall, Tallaght, Dublin 24 and Civic Centre, Clondalkin, Dublin 22), Fingal County Council (Civic Offices, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 and County Hall, Swords, Co Dublin) and the Railway Procurement Agency (Parkgate St, Dublin 8). The deadline for lodging any written submissions or observations with An Bord Pleanala, 64 Marlborough Street, Dublin 1 (marked ‘Metro West’ and accompanied by a fee of €50) is 5.30pm on 13 December 2010

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You have been busy reading and posting. The underground bits should be fun. Some of the land is surely reclaimed and could present problems. Sure it's only money and someone else's at that.

Recently the Credit Union Movement suggested to the 'Regulator/Central Bank of Ireland' that they should borrow from the Movement at say 5% rather than pay 7-8% on the money market - no real response yet.

Recently the Credit Union Movement suggested to the 'Regulator/Central Bank of Ireland' that they should borrow from the Movement at say 5% rather than pay 7-8% on the money market - no real response yet.

ahhhh yezzzzzzz -dont know about that one --could the Gov. be trusted on payback ????they have 'cked everything else up -----

-----------any truth in the rumours that NAMA is gonna employ all those banking and builder chancers at around 200grand a year to help unravel the big mess

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While this is not in the Borough it caught my eye this morning... "two men arresting after damaging rail equipment at unused station".I was intrigued to find out that the disused (never used station) had been build on the Kildare route project and it is called Kishogue and is near the Lucan and Adamstown area.

I was visiting elderly relations in Lucan the other week and telling them about the benefits of free travel. They complained that Lucan was the land that God forgot and they have to have a car to get anywhere from there. As we are blessed here with the DART I couldn't believe it!!...now I read this morning that this station at Kishog was built in 2009 and has lain unopened and rotting since then and the elderly people are begging car lifts from friends!! just saying...things seem to be ass ways all over

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.William Allen White